Congress eyes extending PPP deadline for businesses, as billions sit untouched

Lawmakers are rushing to extend the federal government's key relief program for small business owners as the deadline to apply for a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program approaches with more than $110 billion still untouched.

With about 40% of the funds allocated by Congress in December remaining, lawmakers approved another $7 billion for the fund in the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill that was signed into law last week. But the additional funds are of little use if the March 31 deadline isn't pushed back. There's bipartisan support for legislation that would extend the program to May 31 and provide an additional 30-day period for the Small Business Administration to process applications that are still pending. A House bill could be voted on as soon as Tuesday evening, but the Senate will still need to pass a companion piece of legislation.